Christina went to return her Uhaul rental, but when she arrived at her scheduled time, she found the lot was already closed. Customer service told her to return the truck to the nearest nearby Uhaul place, a chore in and of itself. Then she got charged for returning it to the “wrong” location, and all-told her $19.99 rental has blossomed into $220 that navigating the twists and turns and delays of customer service hasn’t gotten her refunded. Here’s the letter she wrote to Joe, the CEO of Uhaul. [More]
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My UHaul Gas Gauge Lied And Cost Me Money
By 4.13.10
Terry says his UHaul rental wouldn’t register the amount of gas he pumped into it, forcing him to either fill the tank with more gas than he used or pay a $30 fee. [More]
Thieves Steal U-Haul Truck, Drive It Into A Best Buy
By 3.12.10
There are just so many different ways to rob a Best Buy. First some sophisticated thieves pulled off a Mission:Impossible-style heist in which they cut a hole in the roof and never touched the floor. Now some guys in a stolen U-Haul decided to just ram the truck through the backdoor. Less finesse, but equally effective. [More]
U-Haul Forgets Customer, Forgets Guarantee, Then Forgets Extra Day Agreement And Threatens Criminal Charges
By 4.20.09
Consumerist reader Dionicious and his brother tried to rent a trailer from U-Haul over the weekend. First they were faced with a closed location, then they had to ask before the company followed through on its $50 “Right Time, Right Location” guarantee. They hoped that was the end of the screw-ups, but the next day an angry employee called and threatened to file criminal charges against the brothers. Too bad there’s not some sort of $50 “We Threaten You, We Pay” guarantee.
Email Uhaul CEO Joe Schoen
By 12.1.08
The email address for the CEO of Uhaul, Joe Schoen, appears to be joe@uhaul.com. Useful in case his cellphone inbox is full.
Secret Phone Numbers And Email Addresses To Reach Executives At 101+ Companies
By 11.7.08
Inside, email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses for over 100 different companies to inject your customer service complaints into their corporate executive offices, and get it well on the way to success.
Uhaul CEO Gave Out Cellphone Number On National TV, But Never Picks Up Or Returns Calls
By 7.28.08
In what looked like a daring move, the CEO of Uhaul, Joe Shoen, gave out his “cellphone number” on national TV and invited customers to call him with their complaints. The problem is, when you call, he doesn’t pick up. If you leave a message, it’s not returned. You get to hear Joe’s gruffly charming voicemail message, but can’t leave one of your own. His mailbox is full.
Angry U-Haul Manager Says You Stole A Truck
By 6.20.08
Now that it’s summer, many people are doing the moving thing. For some, this might mean renting a truck or trailer from U-Haul, like reader Ryan. He reserved a truck from U-Haul online well in advance of his move, but when he went in for pickup was told none were available. Ryan called corporate, who called the store and convinced the surly manager to give Ryan a truck. Three days after Ryan returned the truck, he got this voicemail from from U-Haul: “This is Alexandria U-Haul Rentals. Your rental truck was due three days ago and you haven’t returned it. If you don’t return our truck today I will call the police.” See how Ryan handled the situation, inside.
Despite Class Action Lawsuit, U-Haul's $50 Reservation Guarantee Is Still Completely Meaningless
By 6.11.08
Reader Greg wants to warn all of you not to expect too much from U-Haul and their so-called $50 guarantee. When he showed up to collect his reserved truck, he found himself waiting in line with another customer who’d reserved the same type of truck. When he overheard the employee telling her they were out of trucks, he knew that his day was going to go rapidly downhill.
Uhaul Says You Must Have A Land Line To Rent A Truck
By 5.13.08
Having previously rented at U-Haul with no issues, reader Robert was surprised when a U-Haul agent wouldn’t rent him a truck unless he had a land line phone number. Robert tried giving him his work number but agent promptly dialed and when he realized it wasn’t Robert’s personal phone number, he hung up and said, “Land line!” Not having an actual land line number Robert was in a bit of a jam. Robert’s letter, inside….
Uhaul Dealer's Tips For Happier Renting
By 3.10.08
What about all those tales about broken and poorly maintained trucks? His thoughts, inside…
Uhaul To Start Charging $1-$5 "Environmental Fee"
By 3.3.08
Uhaul is going to start charging customers a $1-$5 fee to defray the cost of throwing away the various nasty junks associated with its rental business, according to an anonymous store manager. It will be called an “Environmental Fee.” Ok, whatever, but we like the rebuttal supplied in the Q & A for Uhaul managers in case a customer complaints: “Do you want clean air and water thirty or fifty years from now? If so, pitch in.” Nice, avoid raising upfront prices and get customers to cover your operating expenses through the power of guilt. Full text of the announcement, inside…
Uhaul CEO's Cellphone Number
By 2.28.08
The CEO of Uhaul gave out his cellphone number last night on an episode of Inside Edition, inviting consumers to call with complaints or questions. Joe Shoen explained saying, “People can’t get this organization to behave, I can.” That number is 602-390-6525.
By 9.17.07
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Uhual truck kills renter trying to stop Uhaul truck from killing Uhaul worker. Truck had a history of parking brake failures. Uhaul has history of not making adequate repairs to its trucks. Uhaul says renter is responsible for his own death. [LAT] (Thanks to Alan!)
U-Haul Gets Mad If You Follow Their Directions, Park In A Ghetto
By 8.5.07
Willie wasn’t sure why U-Haul told him to park his rental truck in a poorly lit, fenced-off gas station lot that was clearly under construction, but he figured he had the right place when he saw several other U-Haul trucks in a closed pen nearby; Willie parked next to the pen, locked his rental, and got the hell out of there; when Willie told U-Haul he returned their truck as per their instructions, “they try to tell us it is our fault and we would be charged for this….for what? For doing exactly what they said. Exactly.” Now U-Haul wants $1,700:
Overcharged, Man Secures U-Haul Refund
By 7.10.07
Terry got overcharged for his U-Haul rental but by using three of the most basic tools in the consumerist toolkit, persistence, politeness, and escalation, he was able to get the amount refunded (plus an executive assistant contact number and name to boot).
U-Haul Has History Of Losing Key Evidence When Sued
By 6.27.07
Central pieces of evidence have gone go missing when U-Haul gets sued, LAT reports in the 3rd part of its investigation into the do-it-yourself moving company. In 11 out of 10,000 lawsuits filed against the company since 1998, items such as faulty tires and rims at the core of the cases have vanished before or during trial.
U-Haul's Trucks Are Unsafe, Not Maintained
By 6.25.07
Part 2 in a LA Times investigation into U-Haul’s business practices and safety record isn’t any less bleak than part 1. The LA Times investigation has uncovered that U-Haul fails to properly maintain their aging fleet of vehicles while mechanics “hang paper” (forge safety inspections and repairs) to keep the trucks and the money rolling.
During a yearlong investigation, Times journalists surveyed more than 200 U-Haul trucks and trailers in California and other states and found that more than half were overdue for a company-mandated “safety certification,” a check of brakes, tires and other parts typically required every 30 days.
